Question about washed anaerobic coffee beans
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VoidedTea
- Posts: 191
- Joined: 4 years ago
Hi,
I have recently purchased a couple of bags of coffee beans from different roasters which are described as "washed anaerobic" under processing method. What I found to my big surprise is that my Breville grinder is not capable to grind them fine enough for espresso, the flow is always too fast no matter how fine I try to grind.
So my question is - is this a common quality of washed anaerobic beans that they require so much finer grind for espresso that even some grinders are not capable to produce? Or should these beans be used for filter only? I am just not familiar with this category of beans and a bit confused how to handle them. Appreciate your advice. If they can be used for espresso but do require finer grind, I am getting close on the waiting list for 64 Lagom, so hope it will do the trick.
Thank you
I have recently purchased a couple of bags of coffee beans from different roasters which are described as "washed anaerobic" under processing method. What I found to my big surprise is that my Breville grinder is not capable to grind them fine enough for espresso, the flow is always too fast no matter how fine I try to grind.
So my question is - is this a common quality of washed anaerobic beans that they require so much finer grind for espresso that even some grinders are not capable to produce? Or should these beans be used for filter only? I am just not familiar with this category of beans and a bit confused how to handle them. Appreciate your advice. If they can be used for espresso but do require finer grind, I am getting close on the waiting list for 64 Lagom, so hope it will do the trick.
Thank you
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Peppersass
- Supporter ❤
- Posts: 3694
- Joined: 15 years ago
Interesting. Prior to switching from SSP burrs to Shuriken SLM burrs on my Monolith Flat, I had trouble grinding certain coffees fine enough to avoid a fast flow rate. It seemed to be a problem with either Centrals or SA coffees from a certain roaster, but never with African coffees. The roaster I got these coffees from offers anaerobic beans, and it's possible that the beans I had trouble with were processed that way. I know all of the anaerobic coffees they offered at the time were Centrals or SAs. Unfortunately, I didn't make any notes about my experiences with these coffees so I can't say for sure.
I solved the problem by increasing the RPM on my grinder, which usually results in a finer grind for a given setting.
Since upgrading to the Shuriken SLM burrs, I haven't have any fast flow issues with any coffees that couldn't be solved with a slightly finer grind (that said, I'm grinding about 200 RPM faster with the new burrs, per Kafatek's recommendation.) I'm pulling my own roasts, mostly, and they're all African naturals, but pretty sure I've pulled at least one Central or SA anerobic processed coffee with no problems.
If there's an issue with grinding anaerobic coffees, maybe it's because they don't fracture as much as other coffees and don't produce as many fines. That could be due to more retained moisture or more fibrous interior due to the fermentation. Just guessing.
I solved the problem by increasing the RPM on my grinder, which usually results in a finer grind for a given setting.
Since upgrading to the Shuriken SLM burrs, I haven't have any fast flow issues with any coffees that couldn't be solved with a slightly finer grind (that said, I'm grinding about 200 RPM faster with the new burrs, per Kafatek's recommendation.) I'm pulling my own roasts, mostly, and they're all African naturals, but pretty sure I've pulled at least one Central or SA anerobic processed coffee with no problems.
If there's an issue with grinding anaerobic coffees, maybe it's because they don't fracture as much as other coffees and don't produce as many fines. That could be due to more retained moisture or more fibrous interior due to the fermentation. Just guessing.
